GOP congressional candidate falls one signature short, removed from ballot
A suburban congressional candidate’s name was struck from upcoming primary ballots Thursday after the Illinois State Board of Elections decided her petitions fell one signature short of the legally required 799.
But Palos Park Republican Tedora M. Brown’s campaign in the 11th District may not be over. Thursday afternoon, her attorney announced he’s filed for a judicial review.
Brown couldn’t be reached for comment.
Elburn resident Blanca Souders formally objected to the petitions Brown submitted to the elections board last fall, claiming the candidate didn’t get the minimum number of valid signatures from 11th District voters.
Brown turned in paperwork with 1,018 signatures, and Souders objected to 337 of them, documents indicate. After reviews by a state hearing officer and the board’s attorney and then two days of public, occasionally contentious discussions with attorneys for Brown and Souders, the elections board decided Brown’s petitions contained 798 valid signatures and ruled she shouldn’t appear on the ballot.
At the very end, the board was divided on the legitimacy of just a few signatures, including one that didn’t match the name written next to it and others with questionable addresses.
The 11th District encompasses portions of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Will, DeKalb and Boone counties. The incumbent, U.S. Rep. Bill Foster of Naperville, is running unopposed for the Democratic nomination.
Brown’s removal from the ballot leaves Elburn Mayor Jeff Walter, Naperville resident Michael Pierce and Aurora resident Charlie Kim as the Republican candidates.
Pierce survived a petition challenge Wednesday.
The primary election is March 17. The Republican nominee will face Foster in the Nov. 3 general election.
Brown is awaiting trial on 13 federal counts of wire fraud in a case alleging she and her husband misused COVID-19 relief funds. They obtained at least $742,000 in small business loans and grants for businesses that didn’t exist or weren’t operating, prosecutors said in 2023.
Brown maintained her innocence during an October interview.